The Golden Days of Early Baseball

Last year, because of the pandemic, there was no Veterans Committee vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame.  This year, they're making up for it by voting on two different eras.  This is year in the five-year cycle where the Golden Days Era Committee meets on players and managers from 1950-69, as well as the only time in a 10-year period where the Early Baseball Committee (pre-1950) will vote.  That committee won't meet again until the 2032 induction class.

I wanted some clarification, so I asked my friend Jim Henneman (who's a member of the Early Baseball Committee, as well as one of the people who helped formulate the two ballots) and he confirmed that, yes, the two eras will be considered and voted on separately.  So, it's possible (although unlikely) that we could get a pretty big group of Hall of Famers to join whoever's voted in by the writers.

While I have no idea how many of these 20 men will get the necessary 12 votes from the respective 16-member committee, I don't think we'll see a complete shutout.  Because these resumes are simply too good.  Especially on the Golden Days ballot, you could make a strong case that all 10 candidates should already be Hall of Famers.  I think it's very likely that at least one of them will finally get the long overdue nod.

The Early Baseball ballot is a bit tougher.  It includes a player from each of the three New York teams (Bill Dahlen-Giants, Lefty O'Doul-Dodgers, Allie Reynolds-Yankees), as well as seven Negro League and pre-Negro League players.  Stats from that era, especially for the Negro Leagues, are incomplete and unreliable, though, and it's tough to compare them without numbers.  However, the fact that this committee won't meet again for another 10 years leads me to believe that it, too, will yield at least one new Hall of Famer.

Bob Costas did a very good job of breaking down both ballots on MLB Tonight the other day.  They had in-depth discussions about several players, and it actually helped shape my opinion about how I'd vote.  Because the names I went in thinking I'd vote for aren't the same as the ones I'd vote for now.  However, really good points were also made about Roger Maris and Buck O'Neil, specifically how the "Fame" part of "Hall of Fame" applies in their cases.  Will that be enough to get them in, though?

Let's start with the Early Baseball ballot, where I'm particularly intrigued by four players, the first of which is Bill Dahlen.  Dahlen just missed election the last time he was up for consideration, getting 10 of the necessary 12 votes.  I think it's likely he gets over the hump this time.  He was the shortstop for the New York Giants team that won the 1905 World Series and was the all-time leader in both home runs and games played when he retired.  While his numbers are pedestrian by today's standards, Dahlen's known as one of the best power hitters of the Dead Ball Era.

Next we've got Allie Reynolds.  He was almost elected in 2008, then received fewer than three votes the next time he was up.  I view Reynolds in this context: he was the ace of the pitching staff for a Yankees team that won five consecutive World Series.  He also threw two no-hitters in the same year and twice finished top-three in MVP voting (the Cy Young didn't exist yet when he played, but he likely would've won a few if it had).

There are also a pair of Negro League players who I admittedly knew absolutely nothing about, but am now glad to endorse as Hall of Famers.  That especially includes John Donaldson, who some consider the greatest pitcher of his era.  He pitched for more than 30 years and threw at least 14 no-hitters that researchers have found.  Donaldson's credited for a 413-161 record and more than 5,000 strikeouts.  More importantly, he led successful barnstorming tours, establishing that as a business model that Black teams would use for decades.

Then there's Vic Harris, who played and managed for the legendary Homestead Grays.  He hit .306 in his 18-year career, but I think his managerial career is perhaps more significant.  Harris managed the Grays for 11 years and won eight pennants, including six straight from 1937-42.  I can't think of any Negro Leagues managers who are in the Hall of Fame, which is why Harris stands out to me.

Moving on to the Golden Days Era, narrowing it down to four is much tougher.  Because, if the number of votes was unlimited, I'd probably want to vote for seven of them.  And the argument has already been made about why each of these guys should be in the Hall of Fame.  Fortunately, the long wait is likely to finally end for at least one of them.

My first choice is Tony Oliva, who has come close to election several times in the past.  In 2014, he missed by one vote.  And, frankly, Tony Oliva's a Hall of Famer.  He was an All-Star in each of his first eight seasons and won three AL batting titles.  Injuries forced him to become the Twins' DH when the position was established in 1973, but, thanks to the inductions of Edgar Martinez and Harold Baines (and David Ortiz's coming election), that's no longer considered a stigma.  Those Twins teams had Rod Carew and Carew wasn't even the best hitter on those teams.  That tells you all you need to know about Tony Oliva.

Dick Allen is someone I had never much considered until I looked deeper into his stats and realized he really was one of the best power hitters of the 60s and early 70s.  He was the NL Rookie of the Year for that excellent 1964 Phillies team and AL MVP eight years later for the White Sox.  Allen led each league in slugging and on-base percentage, and he finished his career with 351 home runs.  He also had a .292 career average during a very pitcher-friendly era.  I've come around on Dick Allen.  I think he belongs.  (And should he get in, his election will be almost exactly one year after his death.)

Maury Wills, meanwhile, I think has been overlooked because his calling card was the stolen base.  However, it's precisely because his calling card was the stolen base that he's even a worthy Hall of Fame candidate.  Wills made the stolen base a weapon and set an MLB record with 104 in 1962 (which was more than any other team that season).  He also won a Gold Glove and was NL MVP that season.  The Dodgers don't win three World Series in eight years without Maury Wills.

Finally, I've got another Dodger, one who played in Brooklyn.  Gil Hodges is the only one of the legendary "Boys of Summer" who isn't in the Hall of Fame yet.  And there are many people who think he should be.  Hodges is considered one of the greatest players of the 1950s, when he was an eight-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner.  And, let's not forget his role as manager of the 1969 Mets.  Let's finally end the controversy surrounding Gil Hodges' candidacy and just put him in the Hall of Fame already!

You'll notice that I didn't include either Roger Maris or Buck O'Neil.  Maris' 1961 season is obviously stuff of legend (and it's still the AL single-season record 60 years later), but there's a reason why he isn't a Hall of Famer.  (Fun fact, Babe Ruth is single-season home run record-holder among those actually in the Hall of Fame.)  O'Neil, meanwhile, has had his career romanticized ever since his appearance in Ken Burns' Baseball.

Who'll ultimately get elected?  I have no idea!  My best guess, though, is that Dahlen and Donaldson will be voted in from the Early Baseball ballot, while Oliva and Allen will each get that extra vote this time around and take their rightful places in Cooperstown.